Eritrea furious with UN stance
By WALTER MENYA wmenya_at_ke.nationmedia.com and KEVIN KELLY Nation
Correspondent in New York kevinjaykelley_at_gmail.com
Posted Tuesday, December 6 2011 at 22:30
Eritrea has reacted with fury to new sanctions handed down by the United
Nations Security Council for supporting Islamist militants, including
Al-Shabaab, in the lawless Somalia.
The Red Sea State defiantly stated that it would prevail in spite of the
hurdles placed on its way by the new sanctions. (Read:
<
http://www.nation.co.ke/News/UN+adopts+milder+Eritrea+stance++/-/1056/12849
02/-/889j4/-/index.html> UN adopts milder Eritrea stance)
"The peoples of Eritrea, Ethiopia and the region will undoubtedly pay the
price for this continued misguided policy, but the Eritrean people will
prevail, as they prevailed in the past" a statement from Eritrean Foreign
Ministry stated.
The Council passed the resolution with 13 votes in favour and two
abstentions from China and Russia on Monday to expand sanctions imposed two
years ago-that included an arms embargo.
The new resolution watered down at the insistence of Russia and China now
requires foreign companies involved in mining in Eritrea to exercise
"vigilance" to ensure funds from the sector are not used to destabilise the
region.
The original draft circulated by Gabon sought to ban investment in Eritrea's
mining industry and outlaw imports of its minerals. It further sought to
block payment of a tax Eritrea charges on remittances from its nationals
abroad.
The resolution drew the support of the US, Britain and France, Gabon,
Nigeria and South Africa.
Eritrea is furious at what it termed "US instigated sanctions" and warned
that such action would exacerbate conflict and instability in the Horn of
Africa.
Will eighteen tensions
"The resolution is another injustice on the Eritrean people and will
heighten tensions and stoke an already explosive situation in the Horn of
Africa," the statement added.
The US administration, Eritrea stressed, was using the sanctions to cover up
its failed policies in the Horn of Africa.
President Isaias Afwerki's government also took issue with the Security
Council, accusing it of becoming a puppet of the US to endorse Washington's
hostility towards African regimes.
Kenya's Ambassador to the United Nations Macharia Kamau welcomed the new
sanctions saying it "vindicated the position we have had all along," Mr
Kamau said.
Nairobi has lately been on a diplomatic collision with Asmara over the
latter's alleged support to Al-Shabaab through supply of arms.
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Received on Tue Dec 06 2011 - 23:23:02 EST